Event Report: PWX Wrestling presents THE LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN

When fans of independent professional wrestling talk about top tier indie promotions you usually hear about a handful of organizations that have rightfully earned their a position of prominence in the sports entertainment business. Companies like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Ring of Honor, Chikara, Pro Wrestling Syndicate, and others. They began small then grew to be dominant entities within the industry thanks to hard work on the part of folks behind the scenes and, of course, the tremendously talented competitors in their employ. It takes time to build the sort of credentials those promotions have gained, and I feel as though it won't be much longer until another company gets put into that same realm - that company being Premiere Wrestling Xperience.

If you trace its lineage, the company that is now PWX began sometime around 2007-2008 as Carolina Wrestling Association, making it one of at least 3 companies running under the "CWA" acronym in the Carolinas at the time. It would later become Premiere Wrestling Showcase before eventually settling as PWX. All that said, I will be forthright in stating that I have been a longtime fan of PWX and its various permutations, having followed them since the CWA days when they commonly ran shows at a recreation center in York, South Carolina. Back then wrestlers such as Team Macktion (Kirby & TJ Mack), Jake Manning, KC McKnight (now known as Scott Dawson in World Wrestling Entertainment's NXT division), and others were mainstays on the roster. The name of the company may have changed over the years but one thing that has remained constant is the quality of the talent associated with it as PWX features a roster consisting of up & coming stars such as Cedric Alexander, Tessa Blanchard, Caleb Konley, "The Southern Savior" John Skyler, and a host of others.

I had the opportunity to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to see PWX's April 19, 2015 event, a show they dubbed THE LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN. This was obviously not my first PWX show, however it was the first one I'd been to in quite some time as the last event of theirs I attended was PHENOMENAL DEBUT in January of 2014.

The big thing about this particular event was an appearance by "The Samoan Submission Machine" Samoa Joe. Joe has been a star in companies like ROH and Total Non-stop Action Wrestling (aka, Impact) for the longest time. Earlier this year it developed that he & TNA had part ways, making him free to travel as he pleased. There have been reports online (which naturally means they are 100%, guaranteed true) that Joe is not taking any more bookings with independent promotions after April 23. This has lead many to speculate that he will be signing with World Wrestling Entertainment, joining a lineup in NXT that is already loaded to the gills with talented athletes. Time will tell whether or not Joe signs with WWE, but if the April 23 date is accurate and Joe does get a WWE contract that would mean his appearance with PWX would have been one of his final dates on the independent scene.

Joining me for this trip was my friend Billy Morris who was kind enough to drive us from Columbia, South Carolina to the venue, that being Escapade VIP in Charlotte, NC. Neither of us had ever been to this particular venue previously but we were anxious to see the layout of it as it seemed like a rather inviting joint for wrestling fans seeing as how it is frequented by - according to a recent flyer, anyway - former WWE Divas champion Eve Torres (as seen near the bottom of the document).

Nope, I couldn't not throw that into this write-up...


Here are results from THE LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN as well as my thoughts on each match.

1) "Mr. Match of the Night" Anthony Henry def. Lance Lude

If you've never seen either of them before, Henry and Lude are two guys whose combined weight is probably less than my own by roughly 70-100 pounds. They're definitely cruiserweights but they are incredible athletes in that their cardiovascular conditioning allows them to compete at such a high pace that their stamina alone is enough to earn the respect of an observer such as myself.

There were a few blown spots in this match, mostly coming from Lude's high-flying offensive maneuvers. I hate to be critical of these guys seeing as how they're the ones doing back flips off wet ring ropes whereas I'm the schlub sitting in the second row but it is what it is. When you combine that with the fact that matches of this nature often come off as highly choreographed, the misses gain that much more attention when looking back at the entire thing.

Regardless, the real story here is a continuation of a plot line that developed several months back when Henry's girlfriend Amber Young left him after they both became involved in a feud with "The Southern Savior" John Skyler. As a result of those dealings Young turned on Henry and after this match she managed to persuade Henry into viciously attacking Lude. Henry now stands as a man who's lost his girl and now through his actions potentially the respect of his peers.
 
2) PWX Innovative TV Championship Match: Mason Maddox def. "The Thoroughbred" Jaxson James, "Son of the South" Billy Brash & "Mr. Elite" Drew Meyers
 
Brash came into this match having successfully defended the PWX ITV title against the likes of Lance Lude and Moose at recent previous PWX events. The combination of having to stave off not only one but three moving pieces in this scenario would prove to be too much for him and his rather unstable personality to handle.

Maddox, being the least experienced of these four competitors, would have appeared to be the least likely to emerge as champion. He defied the odds, though, and bested three of the better up & coming talents on PWX's roster in the process.

3 and 4-way matches are always difficult to plot out thanks to their being so many variables to control. This one was very well paced and arranged, I thought, as the action never slowed down and there was a consistently interesting combination of talent engaged at all times. The finish was particularly clever and executed perfectly so as to get the crowd behind an unlikely new champ while not making the old one look weaker.

3) Tessa Blanchard def. Candice LeRae
 
Tessa Blanchard is the daughter of Tully Blanchard - yes, that Tully Blanchard, as in original member of the Four Horsemen Tully Blanchard. Tessa has less than two years in the business; while that would make her "green" in the eyes of many, the fact of the matter is that you'd be hard pressed to find someone who has worked harder to have earned the admiration she's garnered thus far. Candice LeRae, on the other hand, is one of the most widely respected female professional wrestlers competing today. In other words, it was only a matter of time before they wound up in the ring together.

This wasn't one of the best women's matches I've seen - in truth it was one of the best matches I've seen in quite some time, period. From start to finish these two were clicking on everything that was involved. The exchanges and segments were set up in such a way that Blanchard and LeRae both seemed capable of winning the match, and that's a welcome piece of booking there as it often seems like drawn talent get a certain level of privilege.

4) Best-of-Five Series: Submission Match - Chip Day def. "The Black Cloud" Joe Black
 
This was my first experience in seeing Joe Black compete live, although I have seen a number of his matches online. He's making a name for himself in North Carolina as I've seen him pop up on posters for a number of different organizations. Chip Day has become something of a mainstay with certain local companies - his focus seems to be on promotions in his home state of Georgia but he gets around plenty.

If you watch what these two did here it was very much a representation of puroresu in that it was a combination of heavy strikes and holds (obviously). I was not particularly caught up in this match. The submission stipulation didn't really meld all that well with the style of wrestling typically employed by either of these men in my opinion. It became kind of tedious to sit through, which is as harsh a criticism as I'll levy. I hate that this was the match out of their series that I got to see because I feel like under different circumstances they could've stolen the show.

5) The Bravado Brothers (Harlem & Lancelot) def. Country Jacked (Corey Hollis & Adam Page)
 
I don't know that I can introduce the Bravado Brothers with the proper amount of appreciation necessary without sounding like a gushing fanboy, so we'll leave my opening comments about them as simply that. (Seriously, for my money, they are one of the best tag teams in the world right now.) Country Jacked are the current PWX tag team champions but the title was not on the line here, for whatever reason. Page is a current Ring of Honor talent and Hollis has appeared on an ROH card in the past year or so, which should give you an idea of their level of talent if you've never encountered them yourself.

I don't think you'll find many tag team matches that go off better than this one did. The Bravados were at the top of their game and the teased strife between the members of Country Jacked was played out perfectly by Hollis & Page. This was a great set up for another encounter between these teams in the future that will likely involve the PWX tag team championship being on the line. Fantastic work all around!

6) "The Southern Savior" John Skyler def. Johnny Gargano
 
John Skyler is one of many talents who would likely have a contract with WWE or some other larger organization if only he was a few inches taller. (He's had several matches with them where he was used as "enhancement talent", including one televised contest within the past year where he and another local competitor took on the Ascension.) It's sad that 2 or 3 inches in height can be all that keeps a person from being viewed as a legitimate prospect but that's the state of this business - as much as it is about ability it's also about presentation. Johnny Gargano (otherwise known as Johnny Wrestling) could be put into that same category of person, although he's at least enjoyed exposure on a grander stage thanks to his involvement with groups like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Evolve. Skyler himself even made a point of this as he talked about Gargano being one of "his doppelgangers" prior to the match.

For a guy who has been criticized for only being able to have "good matches with his friends", Skyler made an excellent showing for himself here. He & Gargano are near mirror images of one another, meaning it was a very even match-up physically. Gargano looked to outdo Skyler on a number of occasions with his athleticism and advanced experience but Skyler was ultimately able to get the Duke.

7) The Revolt (Caleb Konley & Zane Riley) def. Worst Case Scenario (Ethan Case & Elijah Evans IV)
 
The Revolt is a group hellbent on standing up to "the man" behind the scenes at PWX, that being owner Brian Kanabroski and his minions, specifically "The" Tommy Thomas. Why do they feel the need to stand up to him? I'm not entirely certain seeing as how Konley has been at or near the main event of almost every PWX show and Riley is awesome regardless of where he's at on the card. Nevertheless, here on this night they found themselves facing Worst Case Scenario, a well-traveled tag team that has earned the adulation of their growing fan base by way of a combination of colorful personalities, classic tag team maneuvers, and a ton of talent.

The only criticism I have for this match is the fact that with WCS teasing strife in their team it made them the second unit to have expressed such sentiment in one show. It wound up having less of an impact than it should have, kind of like how by this point in the program there had been an excessive number of dives to the outside (resulting in a rather humorous number of broken chairs from where fans at ringside had been landed on) making them feel less meaningful.

8) Samoa Joe vs. Cedric Alexander ruled a no contest after Skyler interfered

If you're a fan of professional wrestling and you don't know who Samoa Joe is, then you're way too far behind on matters of state for me to catch you up in these confines. Suffice to say the man's a legend, having dominated the likes of ROH, TNA, and the indies for many, many years. With the possible exception of AJ Styles, he's one of few American talents to have done all that he has without ever setting foot in a WWE ring. That may or may not be changing in the near future as he's allegedly either signed a contract with them or has at the very least had talks with them about doing as much. With that in mind, the possibility exists that this match would be one of if not his last independent bout, making the notion that it would be against PWX heavyweight champion Cedric Alexander all the more poignant.

I had the opportunity to see Joe wrestle "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner at a TNA house show in Columbia, South Carolina back in August of 2006. That was almost a decade ago, and back then Joe was the young upstart whereas Steiner was the old veteran. Now it feels like the roles have changed in this setting as Alexander is the one with youth and Joe is the one with the mileage.

My preconceived thoughts on this match going into it were that it would be a fun thing to watch but it likely wouldn't end with any kind of definitive conclusion because it realistically couldn't. What happens if Joe wins? He's the PWX champ and he's got to either come back to defend the title or it winds up being stripped from him when he can't fulfill his obligations, neither of which would serve any real purpose moving forward. What happens if Alexander wins clean? Good luck convincing anyone in that audience from now on that Cedric is beatable because he just put down one of the best there is. The only real option was for the bout to end via interference of some variety and that came in the form of John Skyler taking a shot at referee Mitch Blalock first before setting his sights on Joe. This did feel like Joe (pardon my French) "getting his shit in" at times and it was a predictable finish but neither took away from my overall enjoyment of the match.

Final Thoughts

My nit-picking aside, this was a fantastic show top to bottom. It's more clear to me now than it ever has been that PWX wants to be the preeminent promotion here in the southeast. They have the production, they have the talent, and they certainly have the financing to pull it off. If they can maintain this kind of pace, I have no doubt in my mind that within 2 or 3 years time you're going to hear fans on a national level talking about PWX the same way they do PWG, Pro Wrestling Syndicate, Beyond Wrestling, and other more well known indies.

Rasslin' with Redbeard - Episode 15

You knew it was coming...

Event Report: WrestleForce presents AGGRESSION

I feel like I give WrestleForce a lot of coverage, to the point where I - as someone who wants to be able to put the spotlight on independent wrestling in the Carolinas as a whole - almost feel like I need to apologize for not spreading the love (for lack of a better phrase) more than I do. The fact of the matter is that promotions in this part of the world are so spread to the wind that traveling around to shows takes such an investment, financial and otherwise, that it's just not something I can do each and every month. WrestleForce is a local promotion that runs in a venue less than 45 minutes from my home, which makes it convenient. The fact that they're the best promotion in the state of South Carolina makes it ideal.

WF made their debut at a new venue for AGGRESSION, their first event of 2015. Gone are the days of them running out of a bar named for airplane storage - they've moved up to a genuine sports-oriented complex as they're now calling the Spires Recreation Center in Cayce, SC their home. It's a great move for them as I always felt having shows at a bar, while not a horrible option, does create some limitations in terms of being able to attract kids and families to events (not to mention potential sponsors or advertisers). You're not going to get little Bobby's Mom & Dad to take him to a show held in a bar when they were in church a few hours prior. You will, however, get them into a gymnasium in a decent neighborhood just outside of downtown Columbia and that was proven with this show as attendance was fantastic.

The opening match on the card was a real barn burner between the likes of Corey Hollis and former WF heavyweight champion Cedric Alexander. If you're thinking what I'm thinking it's that this match could have been much later on the card as these two are the kind of talents that could justifiably compete for a title anywhere they go. These two didn't seem to mind, though, because they put on a show that set the bar incredibly high for the rest of the night. Truth be told, this is the kind of match I could watch all day long and not get tired of it.



The unenviable task of following that went to a group of wrestlers aligned in teams for a 6-man tag team match where "The Party Man-imal" Zane Riley would join together with the Fortunate Sons (Jesse Windham & Billy Brash) to face the Equal Nation Demonstration (Avgerinos the Great, Jett Black & Kevin Phoenix) who were lead to the ring by their manager "The" Tommy Thomas. Any match involving Zane Riley has at least a chance to be entertaining, and that's exactly what this match was - entertaining!



WF shows don't always feature female competitors, which is a criticism I've seen some fans levy at them. Whether it be for the sake of diversifying a card or simply for providing some eye candy, I can't justifiably argue against the idea that having a consistent women's "division" is a good thing. Regardless, anyone wanting to see the women of WF in action were in luck as AGGRESSION featured the debut of two talented ladies - Lilly Mae and none other than Tessa Blanchard, the daughter of Tully Blanchard.



[SIDE NOTE: Before Lilly Mae and Tessa Blanchard's match, WF social media specialist and ring announcer Brett Wolverton had some issues with his microphone. The problems cropped up during Blanchard's introduction, and she was upset to the point of forcing Wolverton to shout her intro at the top of his lungs. WF's owner "The Fabulous Playboy" Bob Keller emerged from behind the scenes to seemingly save the day with a functional mic, but of course he couldn't let an opportunity to rib Wolverton go to waste...



Poor Brett...]

Next was a match for the WF tag team championship between defending champs The Flock (LODI & Sick Boy) vs. The Bravado Brothers (Harlem & Lancelot). Originally this match was to have been between The Flock and Worst Case Scenario (Ethan Case & Elijah Evans IV) but apparently there was some issue with WCS not having the proper licenses that are required for wrestlers per the South Carolina Athletic Commission. [SIDE NOTE: Ugh...] The Bravado Brothers held the WF tag team straps previously but were never granted a rematch after they lost the titles, which is why they were given the opportunity to replace WCS here. They would have to contend with the bout being contested under FLOCK RULZ, meaning there would be no rules!



After the tag team championship match and intermission there was supposed to have been a match between "The Twisted Metal Rebel" Hexx and "The Inspiration" Brady Pierce, a continuation of a feud stemming from their relationship with "The Midnight Son" Caleb Konley (Hexx was Konley's bodyguard, a role Pierce now commands). Unfortunately it seems as though Pierce had the same licensing issue as WCS as he was not allowed to compete at AGGRESSION per an official ruling by the SCAC. [SIDE NOTE: Double-ugh...] As such, the match ended in a forfeit and the win was awarded to Hexx. The state of their rivalry now sits in limbo as it's anyone's guess where things between the two will go from here.

I'm not sure how many casual fans of World Wrestling Entertainment realize the fact that Ricardo Rodriguez, who was the personal ring announcer for Alberto Del Rio for a number of years, also competed as a wrestler while he was in WWE's employ. He was seen mostly in appearances on NXT programming as the masked luchadore El Local. Rodriguez would make his debut for WF at AGGRESSION, and in an appropriate turn of events he would have his own personal ring announcer for his match against "The Modern Classic" BJ Hancock - none other than "The Party Man-imal" Zane Riley.



I know that labeling a match as a "match of the year" candidate isn't something to be taken lightly which is why I am genuine in doing so for the main event of AGGRESSION. Defending WF heavyweight champion "The Southern Savior" John Skyler would find himself locked inside a 15 foot high steel cage with "The Salem Sinner" Sixx and "The Thoroughbred" Jaxson James, two men who had each won the right to challenge the WF champion. (In order to give credit where credit is due, I applaud the crew WF had in place to install the cage; I've seen that process take an insane amount of time on independent events but they managed to get the thing assembled very quickly and securely.) I don't feel the match needs any more set up than that which is why I'm going to stop talking and let the action speak for itself.



The 2015 edition of AGGRESSION was a great event from top to bottom. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with this show and am very much looking forward to seeing what else WF has in store this year.

WrestleForce's next event will be UNLEASHED, which will feature the debut of former WWE Superstar Eugene, and it is apparently going to involve some level of fan interaction regarding how some (or possibly all) of the matches will be configured. Details and specifics on that are said to be forthcoming. I would imagine there will be a Control Center video released via YouTube in the near future that will spell out exactly what that aspect of the event will entail. UNLEASHED set to take place April 26 from the Spires Recreation Center. Check out the poster for that event and links to their social media sites below!

Facebook.com/WrestleForce
Twitter.com/WrestleForce

Event Report: Ultra Wrestle presents AWAKENS

Several weeks back I made the somewhat lengthy drive from my base of operations in Saint Matthews, South Carolina over to Abbeville, SC to witness an independent professional wrestling event promoted by a company known as Ultra Wrestle. The show - which was entitled AWAKENS, an apparent attempt at getting a rub from the fact that the next Star Wars film is being called "The Force Awakens" - would be UW's first of 2015 and looked to be something of a relaunch for the promotion heading into the new year seeing as how UW ran a handful of events in 2014 but now seems prepared to stake a claim in the western part of the state.

Abbeville is about as far west as you can go in traveling through the state of South Carolina without winding up in Georgia. It's not too far from Augusta, GA, but it is most definitely what a lot of people would consider a town in the middle of nowhere seeing as how there's not much to do there. As such, when something like professional wrestling "invades" (I have always hated seeing that word used in relation to a wrestling event; no one in wrestling politely enters, they always invade, wreck, or destroy - and people wonder why it's so difficult to get venues to rent out their facility for wrestling), people will come out to see it because it's something fresh, new, and exciting that they don't get to see very often, if ever. For this reason (along with the fact that UW's ownership did their job in actually promoting the event), AWAKENS was a tremendous success. The floor seats and bleachers were full, the gimmick tables were busy, and the concession stand had a line 10-15 people deep at times.

Starting off the show was this match between Alan Price and "The Thoroughbred" Jaxson James. Price has seen action with promotions around this part of the state and with a few entities running shows in the area of the low country. James is one of the top prospects in the Carolinas at this point in time, and he's only going to get better. That said, I will say that when I watched this match live I wasn't thrilled with it as it seemed clunky in spots. However, a second viewing told me a different story, one I didn't immediately notice the first time around.



For the second match on the card Chase "Cauliflower" Brown would meet Dean Richards. This was my first exposure to Richards; he seems to have plenty of ability but his physique is definitely a work in progress. What he lacks most, in my opinion, is a sense of charisma which is something that Brown has albeit in an odd kind of way. Chase fancies himself as an old school shooter or catch wrestler and he comes off as a kind of loveable grappler you can't help but cheer for. The match these two wound up having would prove to be a real physical test for both men as it went in a direction you don't often see on the independent scene.



Before you read further I'd like to make a comment about this next match. Yes, it involves Alan Price - yes, Alan Price was already in a match on the AWAKENS card. You see, our friends at the South Carolina Athletic Commission (SCAC being the division of LLR that oversees legitimate combat sports like boxing, mixed martial arts and...Professional wrestling?) made an appearance at this event and, as it would turn out, a few of the scheduled participants had to be removed from the card for failure to secure the proper licenses. As much as I would like to think that the SCAC isn't just a group of old fashioned Boss Hogg types disguised as government officials and that their role is a legitimate one in making sure things are being done properly (a sentiment that I detailed in a blog entry last year - Wrestlers & Promoters vs. South Carolina's Athletic Commission), there's this side of the coin where it seems like they should have better things to do than come around and tell a few people they can't put on costumes and dance with one another. It is what it is, and the show must go on!

This contest was a throwback to a different era, where wrestlers didn't have to do insane moves and all but kill themselves to elicit a response from the crowd. You don't see this kind of wrestling all that often anymore as the current generation of pro wrestlers have seemingly all been trained with the same mentality that the developers of a video game like Mortal Kombat have in mind when they're preparing a new title. By that I mean most matches seem to be nothing but a series of in-congruent moves strung together without any purpose that eventually culminate in one participant or the other succumbing to some random maneuver when their invisible health meeter has been depleted. Something that you see even less frequently than effective ring psychology is the performance of a manager like "Big Business" James McHone. The trio of him, Deon Johnson, and Boomer Payne made for a truly entertaining assemblage, one that Price and his tag team partner "Mr. Sleeze" Erik Thompson would have a hard time overcoming.



I feel obliged to tell you that Brice Anthony is one of my oldest friends from the world of independent professional wrestling - actually, he is my oldest friend from the world of independent professional wrestling. He and I were part of a promotion that ran in & around Lancaster, SC back 10-15 years ago. I say "he and I" when in reality he was a wrestler and I was something of a glorified gopher boy/photographer/web designer who did whatever was asked of me because it meant I got to be a part of a pro wrestling company. Brice's career in the ring has had a number of stops and starts but his passion for competition burns as bright now as I've ever seen it. He's a more mature hand and it is plainly evident in contrasting the kind of things I saw him do when we were younger to how he now enjoys making the fans hate him with not much more than the expression on his face.

For his match at AWAKENS, Brice would lock horns with local favorite Hoss Hagood - or Hoss Hayseed as Brice's manager, "Big Business" James McHone, referred to him. The main event of the show is still to come but, for my money, I felt like this was the best match of the evening.



Capping off the card was the main event, a tag team match featuring four of the best and brightest young professional wrestlers competing in this neck of the woods. AWAKENS would end with Avgerinos the Great and Josh Powers, better known as The Living Daylights, squaring off against TK Stark and Jett Black, a flashy, athletic duo calling themselves Chemical Z.



As I have watched talent come and go from this region over the years, I have oftentimes asked myself who will be left to continue on with things once the top tier guys & girls get opportunities in greener pastures? While I will be completely honest in saying that I feel fantastic about the fact that wrestlers who cut their teeth in the Carolinas move away because of the fact that business is better in different parts of the world, I always worry that the scene here will dry up and vanish or otherwise be left with nothing but backyard-level companies and wrestlers. That day may come but it's not here yet thanks to promotions like Ultra Wrestle and its roster.

The next Ultra Wrestle event is tentatively scheduled for March 28 in McCormick, SC. For details on that and everything else relating to UW, be sure to check out their social media sites at the following links.

Facebook.com/UltraWrestle
Twitter.com/UltraWrestle
YouTube.com/UltraWrestle

Event Report: World Wrestling Entertainment presents WWE Live (12-5-2014)

My wife and I were able to have a night out on the town this past Friday night, which is something that's a very valuable commodity now that the focus of most of our free time is taking care of the Duke. He's a bit needy since he is a newborn and all, but we're not holding that against him - it's not his fault he can't prepare his own supper or wipe his rear end yet, obviously.

This particular night was a special occasion seeing as how World Wrestling Entertainment was in Columbia, South Carolina for a live event at the Colonial Life Arena. If you didn't know, live events are also referred to as house shows because they are non-televised. Companies like WWE use them for a number of purposes. For one, they're quick cash generators as they typically take advantage of whatever the going storylines are on TV to pique the interest of fans in a local market. In addition, they're an opportunity for a promotion to test the waters in terms of how an audience reacts to a match, a new gimmick for a performer, or any number of things which may or may not wind up appearing in programming later on.

In this instance it looked as though a majority of what was going on had to do with the upcoming Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view that is set to take place later this month. That event will be headlined by a tables match featuring John Cena and Seth Rollins - who would also be headlining the event we saw in Columbia.

Getting in and around the parking lots at CLA has always been somewhat tricky seeing as how the building is in the middle of downtown Columbia, is adjacent to several major streets, sits on the doorstep of the University of South Carolina's Greek village, and there's usually no assistance from local law enforcement in terms of directing traffic. That last bit is an issue thanks to the fact that there are no traffic lights to control the flow of cars, rather a couple 4-way stops that leave it to motorists to negotiate matters amongst themselves.

We got to the arena around 6:30 PM by which time a majority of the front-most parking lot was filled. Cost for parking that night was $5 - that's not too bad seeing as how game day parking for events at Williams Brice Stadium will set you back $20 or more, depending on how close you want to be to the venue.

Our tickets were being held at will call even though I had purchased them as part of a pre-sale promotion. Why? Allow me to elaborate.

Face value of the tickets I chose was $25. Those seats were a good middle ground option since they were not as expensive as the $90 floor seats but with a better view than the $15 seats. (WWE offers what is called the WWE VIP Experience for certain of their events; this is a package that includes front row seating where you are given the chair you sat in that evening, a backstage meet and greet with some of the Superstars, and a few other perks. These packages start around $300 and go up from there. Yes, there were a handful of VIP seats sold at this event!) There was a section of limited view seats available for this event, which struck me as odd seeing as how there were no limitations on the view; "limited view" usually refers to seating situated in such a way that it can be blocked by staging used during TV tapings. As I mentioned earlier, this was a non-televised event.

After you add in CLA's fees ($9 per ticket for this show; I've referred to convenience/facility fees previously as the "take a dump" fee because I can only assume they want you to pay for the fact that you had to go to the bathroom while you were there), our total was $68. Wait, we're not done yet because that amount doesn't count the fee you incur depending on the ticketing delivery option you select: Mail delivery, print at home, or will call. I don't remember how much the other two were but at $3.50 will call was the cheapest of the three. (What that $3.50 covers I can only imagine. I gather these tickets are printed on parchment salvaged from an ancient Egyptian tomb and printed using the blood of pandas.) If you add in the cost of parking and ticketing delivery split between our two tickets, a $25 ticket in reality costs $38.25.

And folks in the pro wrestling business wonder why live event attendance is down!

I have to commend the people who work behind the scenes to operate and maintain CLA. It is a beautiful arena that is always pristine in appearance and the staff working there are generally quite cordial. I can't say as I've ever had a bad experience there.

Our seats were in one of the lower levels several rows off the floor. When it comes to events like this I've learned that the only good floor seats are in the front row. If you're sitting further back from that you're going to spend the majority of the time dodging the backs of other people's heads instead of watching the show. Given how much those seats cost, it's simply not worth it. For this reason unless I can get front row I'm perfectly fine taking a seat in the bleachers. Quite frankly I don't know that I would buy front row these days even if the opportunity presented itself seeing as how in my opinion the product doesn't warrant the cost.

A number of vignettes and advertisements were shown on the jumbo-trons around the arena before bell time, and these included a message from Dolph Ziggler who spoke about his Intercontinental championship match against Luke Harper that would be coming up later on in the evening. I can only guess as to what attendance might have been but I will note that there were plenty of good seats available. (The house looked about the same as what we've seen the last few times we've been to WWE live events in Columbia.) The show began promptly at 7:30 PM and our ring announcer for the evening was none other than Brandi Rhodes who is the wife of Cody Rhodes.

Here's a rundown of the card along with my thoughts on each match.

#1) Ryback defeated Curtis Axel

Ryback has had his name in the press a lot here lately thanks to having been the subject of some of CM Punk's comments made during an interview on Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast wherein Punk stated that Ryback was responsible for injuring him on a number of occasions. If Punk's statements are true, it would appear as though Ryback's previous gimmick of "The Corn-fed Meathead" Skip Sheffield wasn't that far off from reality.

Speaking of Ryback, he definitely benefited from being the first babyface (hero/good guy) to appear on the card as the crowd reaction he received was quite audible. It appeared to be coming from the same section of the audience that later on in the evening would be chanting "LET'S GO CENA!"

This seemed like an odd bit of booking to me because it was only a short while ago that Curtis Axel and Ryback were working as a tag team called RybAxel (appropriately enough). To my knowledge there was never a storyline presented as to why they'd be broken up, but then again the success of many modern WWE storylines is dependent upon the fact that their writers assume the fans suffer from some form of memory loss. (Hence the reason why Big Show has gone through something along the lines of 20 character turns - as in transitioning from hero to villain - during his run with WWE.) Nevertheless, you can tell who was Marty and who was Shawn out of their pairing based on the fact that Ryback was in the main event of Survivor Series and Axel has been relegated to appearances on Main Event (if you don't get the Marty/Shawn reference, I'm sorry but you've been reading this entry for far too long to be that far out of touch with this kind of material).

#2) Fandango (with Rosa Mendes) defeated Sin Cara

Fandango was announced as being "the new and improved Fandango". I bother with pointing that out because the wrestler now known as Fandango has been involved with WWE since 2006 (not the whole time as Fandango; he's had 3 or 4 other gimmicks) at which point he began working with Deep South Wrestling, an independent promotion that served as a developmental territory for WWE which no longer exists. He has worked there, Florida Championship Wrestling, NXT, and finally as part of the main WWE roster. For someone as talented as he apparently is to have had such a drawn out career with no real highlights to speak of is baffling to me.

Sin Cara came to the ring sporting a Lucha Dragons t-shirt, which is the name of the tag team he's involved with in NXT. As of this writing he and his partner, Kalisto, are the WWE NXT Tag Team Champions.

#3) Emma, Alicia Fox & Charlotte defeated Paige & The Bella Twins

There was a social media push before the show began towards getting the fans in attendance to use a Twitter hashtag to vote on whether they wanted to see a 6-Divas tag team match or if they wanted to see a 1-on-1 Divas match. In terms of offering up options to fans of pro wrestling, that's like asking a 6 year old if they want a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone or some nice blanched asparagus.

The big deal here was that Charlotte was involved. She's the current WWE NXT Women's Champion and, perhaps of more interest to most fans, the daughter of "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. She was involved for the majority of the match and made a good showing for herself. The Flair references are a little thick with her presentation at the moment seeing as how she had "WOOO!"-ed about a dozen times before the match even started.

After the match was over, Nikki and Brie (the Bella Twins) began to argue with one another. The two of them are supposed to be on the same page according to what's going on within TV storylines, however they appeared to have split on less than amicable terms this night as Brie shoved Nikki and walked off on her own. That could be foreshadowing something to come down the line but it could also be an example of how house shows exist in a vacuum, meaning none of these events matter in the grand scheme of things because they aren't on TV and therefore aren't part of the running narrative.

#4) Intercontinental Championship Match - Dolph Ziggler defeated Luke Harper by disqualification

Going into the show I had this contest in mind as being a contender for match of the night. In reality it felt kind of flat, and that bugs me for a number of reasons. Knowing what these two are capable of and seeing the match they had, it surprised me that it was somewhat dull in its pacing. I knew Ziggler had zero chance of winning the title because titles never change hands at live events (that's not entirely true; they do change hands at live events but only about as frequently as we elect Presidents). The fact that the guts of the match didn't feature the sort of athleticism these two show off during episodes of RAW or Smackdown was disappointing but the decision to have the match end as the result of Harper pushing Ziggler into the referee was somewhat confusing (at first I thought the ref had disqualified Ziggler for making contact with him) and mostly unsatisfying.

- Intermission -

#5) R-Truth defeated Cesaro

As I mentioned on my Twitter feed, this is why CM Punk quit.

Here's another crazy booking decision which doesn't make any sense to me. Why would a guy like R-Truth, who hasn't been on any of the main WWE programming for a while now, get a win over Cesaro? I can only assume Cesaro is in someone's doghouse. If this is all the Swiss Superman will ever get to be on the main roster, then by all means send him back to NXT where he can be appreciated for having phenomenal matches with talent like Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, and Hideo Itami.

#6) A New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E Langston with Xavier Woods) defeated WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & Damien Mizdow in a non-title bout

This was my favorite match of the night because out of the 7 contests on the card it was the one that had the most energy and life to it. The Miz can get heat just by picking up a microphone, Damien Mizdow is one of the best characters in WWE right now, and I sincerely hope that A New Day goes far because those guys are working their tails off in that gimmick.

#7) John Cena defeated Seth Rollins in a street fight

The last event my wife and I attended together before this one was a WWE Live show in November of 2013 which was also held at CLA. The main event that night was a street fight between the Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper & Eric Rowan) and the team of CM Punk & Daniel Bryan. Fast forward to the present where the Wyatt Family doesn't exist, Daniel Bryan may or may not ever wrestle again, and CM Punk is gone from WWE completely. My how things change over the course of a year!

I have to give a hand to Cena and Rollins because this match was definitely more in line with what one would expect when you hear of a match being held under street fight rules than others I've seen. (Of course you could just as well interchange street fight, extreme rules, no disqualifications, and a few other labels that get added to matches where anything goes. Why WWE uses one instead of another is anyone's guess. Perhaps WWE conducted a study and determined that "street fight" was more effective in terms of marketing.) They brawled up and down the aisle, made use of a number of weapons, and Rollins had so much heat on him that he even managed to make a young female fan at ringside burst into tears. That's the kind of reaction you rarely see anymore in pro wrestling and it goes to show that no matter how many times John Cena may face insurmountable odds (and triumphantly overcome them) his loyal fans are there with him 100% of the time.

Rollins went through two tables during the match, once on a reversal out of an Irish whip into one of the corners and a second time via an Attitude Adjuster from Cena off the top rope. I believe Cena and Rollins had this same match at least once more during the loop of live events this past weekend, so that means Rollins likely went through 4 or more tables in less than 3 days time. All I can say to that is hopefully he has a good chiropractor.

All things considered this was a fun night out but the matches overall left both of us feeling like there was something missing. I don't know if that something is star power, emotional involvement, or what but this was a fairly vanilla piece of work. Looking back, I think it's interesting that out of 7 matches the heel (villain) only won once, that being Fandango.

Of course we couldn't go to something like this without shooting an episode of Rasslin' with Redbeard! I have to give my wife major kudos seeing as how she served as camera operator for more than a few shots that became a part of this episode. She humors me and my silly endeavors, which is just one reason why I love her.

WWE Live at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC (November 6, 2013)

[Author's Note: This is an expanded version of an event report I submitted to the professional wrestling news website Pro Wrestling Insider, PWInsider.com. They published my original piece, which you can view at this link.]

It might seem somewhat childish, but I'm a 33-year old man who still enjoys watching professional wrestling. "Rasslin", as it's sometimes referred to down here in the South - it's the sort of thing that gets you a funny look when you admit to being into it as an adult because, much like cartoons, it's one of those things that society expects to be appealing only to kids. Fact of the matter is, though, I've watched it ever since I was a young lad and I see no reason to stop. Sure there are times where the stuff that makes it to television makes me slap my head because of how ridiculous it is (wrestling is a "soap opera for men" is a phrase I've heard, which is mostly accurate), but the reality of it is that this is a form of entertainment and at this point I'm working on better than 20 years of knowledge regarding the continuity of this story. Not that the plot will ever end, but leaving now would be akin to watching Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back but never bothering to check out Return of the Jedi.

What's more, a common interest in pro wrestling is one of the things that my wife & I share. She informed me of her fondness of it when we first got together and consequently I've used that to my advantage as I've dragged her to some, shall we say, incredibly questionable venues thanks to our mutually confessed adulation of wrestling. That brings us to the event we attended this past Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - an edition of WWE Live held at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.

This was taken by a photographer at The State newspaper as we entered the building.

We arrived about an hour before the 7:30 PM bell time. I'm a stickler for this sort of thing as I am always paranoid about things like parking and getting through security without being rushed to make it to our seats in time for the show to begin. There were a couple dozen guys in the parking lot literally coming up to people in cars, sometimes following them to their parking spaces as they were still making their way into the lot, trying to sell fake WWE t-shirts and posters. This isn't an uncommon practice as I've seen it numerous times at various buildings; it's kind of funny because their products are always terrible quality but I guess people still buy them else they wouldn't be out there. (Suffice to say the stuff they're selling is illegal seeing as how the logos and likenesses they use are intellectual properties protected by copyright laws.) After we waded through them we got to the doors, and to my amazement the arena was already open by the time we got there. No queue, no delay, we went straight in. For that matter there wasn't even security at the gate - no wands, no bag checks.

Suddenly I got the feeling this might not be the most extravagant of WWE events. What I mean by that is it didn't exude the big time feel that I've had in the past when going to their shows. Actually, I had concerns about that going into the thing as far back as when I bought our tickets. Reason being, that same day WWE was set to begin a week-long European tour, meaning that while our show was happening a majority of the WWE roster was already in a different part of the world. What that meant for us, potentially, was a show featuring what could best be described as leftover talent. Not to say that they aren't good, just that the event stood to be lacking in star power.

When we got inside we browsed the merch booth and noticed something new. Seems as though WWE has gotten into the idea of selling professional photos of fans holding a replica of the newly redesigned WWE title. I didn't look to see how much the pictures cost but it's probably much cheaper than buying an actual replica belt as a keepsake.

PRO-TIP: I bought our tickets as part of a pre-sale event, and because of this I was able to get us front row seats right up against the railing near where the wrestlers make their way to the ring. I surprised Jill with them as I'd kept them hidden right up until we went through the gates. Pre-sales are usually promoted by event venues via some sort of mailing list, so if you are a fan of concerts and performances and want to get the best seats possible you'd do well to sign up with your local venues. I will tell you, though, that these pre-sales can be a blessing and a curse when it comes to being a patron. On the one hand, if you get in early enough on the pre-sale you can get some fantastic seats like I did. However, sometimes venues only open up certain sections in the arena for the pre-sale, meaning it may look like there are no good or ideal seats left when in reality there are likely still some to be had. To make matters worse, a lot of times some of the best seats get reserved for giveaways and other promotions, meaning the general public essentially never has a fair shot at them. There are a lot of tricks to this business, needless to say!

We found our seats and took a few pictures at ringside. We noticed that it looked like a slim crowd at that point but in my mind I likened the situation to Gamecock football games in that Columbia crowds seem to be late on arrival as a matter of principle. My wife went to the restroom before the show began and when she came back she said there weren't very many people on the concourse at the concession stands. By the time the show started, the floor seats were mostly full but there was what I'd call a "splash" of fans scattered around the lower bowl of the arena. I think Colonial Life holds somewhere around 10,000 at maximum capacity - I'd say there were less than 2,500 in attendance that night.

Tony Chimel was our ring announcer. I don't know why but I thought he'd been released from his contract with WWE at some point in the past (not an uncommon thing for them; almost every year after Wrestlemania there are a series of cuts made to the roster, usually for budgetary reasons but others as well). Regardless, he informed us that we'd have a chance to determine the stipulation to be added to the main event by tweeting or texting our preference. I have to hand it to WWE - involving the fans using social media and technology is pretty awesome, even if it oftentimes seems as though they make the choice an obvious one. ("Okay, guys - who do you want to see face Randy Orton? Hornswoggle, The Brooklyn Brawler, or John Cena...VOTE NOW!") We would get to choose between a street fight or no disqualification rules being added to the CM Punk & Daniel Bryan vs. The Wyatt Family tag team match. As an old school fan who's been around long enough to know I kind of shook my head over this because no disqualification technically could be the same thing as a street fight. I say that even though I know well enough by now that looking for logic in pro wrestling is like looking for a specific grain of sand on a beach.

1) The Primetime Players (Darren Young & Titus O'Neil) vs. Hunico & Comacho

Hunico made fun of a kid sitting behind us who was wearing a Sin Cara mask (which looks like this). If you don't get that reference, there was a point in time where there were two Sin Cara's - the real one and the fake one, who was Hunico in disguise. This was a good opener, albeit a classically structured tag team match where Darren Young played the good guy in distress who finally made a tag to Titus O'Neil who promptly laid waste to Hunico and Comacho. The Primetime Players won and got things off to a spirited start.

2) Jinder Majal vs. The Great Khali

Jinder came to the ring using his old entrance music from when he was a singles competitor - I guess he still is a singles competitor, but it seemed odd that he'd be using it since he's part of a group called 3 Man Band (along with Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre, who would be appearing later on in the show). I made the comment to my wife that he looked rather militant with his all-black garb; I doubt this wasn't intentional, seeing as how an Arabic character in professional wrestling is almost universally recognized as being a villain.

It pains me to watch Khali. At better than 7 feet tall, he's a physical specimen but he has severe limitations when it comes to mobility and dexterity. This was more or less every Khali match you've ever seen. He delivers a couple overhand chops to the bare chest of Majal then he gets some heat when he botches a kick to the corner (which looks awful because he doesn't kick, he just throws his leg over the rope), and finally he makes the comeback for the win.

3) Brie Bella w/Nikki vs. AJ Lee (WWE Diva's Champion) w/Tamina

This was advertised as being a Diva's Championship match but AJ got on the microphone immediately as she entered the ring and announced that she would not be defending the title tonight. This was a solid match, which was a great thing to see since WWE's female wrestlers are often criticized as being one of the low points of a given card. Brie got the victory after Tamina attempted to get involved only to have Nikki yank her off the apron.

Trust me when I say that the aesthetic differences between the Bellas, who are identical twin sisters, are especially noticeable up close. Nikki is more enhanced than her sister is, if you catch my meaning. Also, during this match there was some dude perched beside me on the other side of the railing who seemed to be trying to take pictures of the Bellas with an iPhone. I'm not sure who he was or what that was about, though.

4) Intercontinental Championship Match - Curtis Axel (c) vs. R-Truth

Axel, who has an incredible lineage as he is the grandson of Larry "The Axe" Hennig and the son of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, ran down the crowd as being beneath him before the match. R-Truth came out to his usual pre-match antics, rapping and dancing on his way to the ring and getting the support of the fans in the process.

Curtis looked good coming off of a recent hip injury, although I want to be critical of the fact that his physique isn't anything to be especially proud of. I say that because here lately there have been a number of stories published by wrestling news websites regarding a talent named Khasius Ohno (who is better known as Chris Hero) who was more or less demoted from his position in the company for supposedly not focusing intently enough on developing his physical appearance. Why does a guy like him get thrown under the bus but not Axel?

Truth came off well here because it never felt like he wasn't capable of winning the match - right up until he finally lost, that is.

- Intermission -

5) Heath Slater & Drew McIntyre vs. The Usos

I can't lie, Drew & Slater are entertaining in the role of bandmates in the 3 Man Band gimmick. In the realm of potentially awful creative ideas that have been thrust upon otherwise solid wrestlers, that's the kind of thing that could end careers but these guys have found a way to make it fun if nothing else. The Usos, on the other hand, do nothing for me. Their work just seems sloppy and I do not get their appeal, at all. That said, the Usos won after what was a fairly competitive match with all parties getting involved.

6) Ryback vs. Justin Gabriel

When Gabriel came out I was hoping it wouldn't be Ryback as his opponent. To give those of you who don't follow wrestling an idea of why I didn't want it to be Ryback, Justin is a high-flying cruiserweight and Ryback would be considered a super-heavyweight who's so muscular that he looks like he could throw a Volkswagen through a brick wall. I didn't want to see a squash match this late in the card ("squash match" being wrestling vernacular for a match designed to make one competitor look better by having him soundly beat what is typically an inferior opponent), but but sure enough it was Ryback.

Ryback came out and tried to get the crowd against him by running down the University of South Carolina Gamecocks football team and how they're going to get beaten down by the University of Florida Gators in a few weeks. I'd like to have seen him say that to Jadeveon Clowney - that would've been entertaining, likely more entertaining than this match as a matter of fact.

The match went about how you'd expect it. Gabriel had a few fleeting moments of hope but couldn't get past Ryback, the guy who (WARNING - STRING OF WRESTLING & POP CULTURE REFERENCES APPROACHING) looks like Bill Goldberg wearing Rob Van Dam's singlet with randomly-placed Team Rocket logos on his gear.

7) Tag Team Street Fight - CM Punk & Daniel Bryan vs. The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper & Eric Rowan w/Bray Wyatt)

At this point, my wife & I got a little upset because we realized the card on this night was, in fact, subject to change (that little phrase has adorned every wrestling poster that I've ever seen, and for obvious reasons). In promoting the event, WWE and the Colonial Life Arena had advertised appearances by Kane, Paul Heyman, as well as Cody Rhodes and Goldust who are the current WWE Tag Team Champions. Not that we didn't look forward to the main event, but we were hoping to see Kane and The Rhodes Brothers. This goes back to my notion of this show not being all that loaded with star power, but hey - CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are a good get any day of the week as far as I'm concerned.

This match was the highlight of the night. The street fight stipulation won the fan vote (real shocker, that) but they never really took advantage of those rules - no brawling in the crowd or what have you. There was a point in wrestling's history where a match like this would've involved blood as it's a great tool that, when used appropriately, can add to the drama of a contest. That doesn't happen as often anymore as athletic commissions have had their say in trying to limit the dangers of exposing athletes and fans to blood-bourne pathogens.

There was some great work at the start of the match where it looked like Punk & Bryan would establish control early on but Harper & Rowan managed to get the upper hand by isolating Bryan, who took the bulk of the punishment from Bray's disciples. The Wyatt's introduced a kendo stick to the match, beating down both Punk & Bryan but Punk found his own kendo and evened things up. The finish came after Harper ran himself into a table that the Wyatt's had set in one of the corners after which Punk hit him with his signature finishing maneuver, the GTS (Go To Sleep).

 

After the match Bryan & Punk spent a good bit of time going around ringside, meeting with fans, taking pictures and signing autographs. I "slapped hands" with them and I will admit that in that moment I was a small child who just happened to be shaped like a grown man.

Overall I'd say that this show was quite entertaining but it was also very rushed. It started on time at 7:30 PM and even with the intermission it was done around 9:30-9:45. I guess these guys all had planes to catch in order to join the rest of the crew across the pond.